Donegal's thatching school trains a new generation to save cottage roofs

RTÉ News meets homeowners and trainees learning a scarce craft at Ireland's only purpose-built thatching school.

Channel: RTÉ News Story of November 14, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of RTÉ News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 9,876 views.

Ireland’s only thatch school ‘getting great results’ | #rtenews

Next story: Costa names European talks team as Robinson warns over preconditions

Francis Boyle wants to keep the thatched roof on the cottage he plans to make his main home. Learning to maintain it himself would preserve more than the building's appearance.

"If I could learn the trade, it would be great to keep this tradition alive," he tells RTÉ News.

The broadcaster's report visits Donegal Thatching School, where workers on scaffolding bind straw into place above a white cottage. RTÉ reports that only around 2,000 thatched houses remain in Ireland, making the passing-on of practical skills important to their survival.

Thatcher Hugh Gallagher describes the value of teaching alongside someone, watching their work and correcting mistakes as they go. The difficulty is finding enough people who can pass that knowledge on. "There are a few thatchers still about, but they're getting scarce," he says.

The purpose-built school near Portnoo opened in October 2024. Chairperson Conal Shovlin says its objective is to maintain the remaining thatched houses in Donegal and across the country, and reports interest from younger learners.

For attendee Rory McClernan, the course means crossing the border from County Tyrone to find training unavailable closer to home. Boyle brings a different, equally practical reason to learn: a roof he wants to keep authentic.

Published on Trari

Most watched today ›

Share this story

A ready picture for an Instagram story or a WhatsApp status.

Share the pictureSend the link

×Share the picture

Where next?

More from RTÉ NewsWorld news 3,796 views since yesterdayCosta names European talks team as Robinson warns over preconditionsThe Dublin summit report pairs plans for joint European representation with Mary Robinson's concerns about how negotiations are being approached.Channel: RTÉ News · Story of November 14, 2026 Also in News networks and broadcastersVideo taking off 10x its usual first dayRussian corvette hit in Gulf of Finland, Starkey reportsThe Sun's defence editor leads his Frontline roundup with a reported naval drone strike, before examining bombardments and the limited outcome of peace talks.Channel: The Sun · Story of November 14, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 21x its usual first dayJimmy Kimmel follows Trump's midterm spin from Mississippi to NvidiaScott Colom's Senate upset opens the monologue, which later moves through Iran, a Seattle cat convention and another round of pointless bleeps.Channel: Jimmy Kimmel Live · Story of November 14, 2026

Or follow us on Telegram

Is this your channel?For the channel's owners and team: a ready picture and text for your audience

Share the story with your audience. Everything is ready:

For a community post or your channel's description

Donegal's thatching school trains a new generation to save cottage roofs The full story on Trari: https://trari.com/en/story/rtenews-36975/

Copy the text

The numbers

RTÉ News's short report drew nearly 10,000 views since yesterday.

subscribers

257,000

▲ 1,000 in the last 7 days

total views

184,919,646

views per day

400,787

typical day: 251,668

the video

views

9,876

likes

397

comments

18

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

The Sydney Morning Herald…

271,000

The Globe and Mail

267,000

RTÉ News

257,000

RNZ

255,000

Washington Week PBS

248,000

Royal Exclusive

244,000

As of November 14, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.